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Academy Award-winning actress Olympia Dukakis ("Moonstruck") and her husband, the actor Louis Zorich (perhaps best known for his role as Paul Reiser's father Burt Buchman in the NBC series "Mad About You"), know something about teamwork: After meeting at an audition for an off-Broadway play, they have been happily married for 47 years, raised three children together, and continue to work as actors.

So, when Zorich was recently diagnosed with type 2 diabetes and he and his wife learned some of the staggering statistics - almost half of people older than 65 with prediabetes or diabetes don't even know they have it, and although free diabetes screenings are available through Medicare, only 10 percent of eligible people get tested - they decided to join forces in a new way to raise awareness about the importance of early detection.

Diabetes can lead to kidney disease, blindness, heart disease, circulatory problems, and stroke. The good news, and what Zorich and Dukakis hope to impart, is that complications from diabetes can be prevented - but you have to know your status first.

Everyday Health: What made you decide to get tested for diabetes, Louis? Were you having symptoms?

Zorich: I don't usually go to doctors if I'm tired or fatigued, so it was just a routine screening. And when the doctor told me I have type 2 diabetes, I couldn't believe it. I was just shocked when I was told I had it.

Everyday Health: In retrospect, after getting your diagnosis, can you look back and say that there were symptoms that you weren't recognizing?

Zorich: Oh, sure. In particular, fatigue. I was really tired. And then, vision problems. About two or three years ago, I had laser surgery on my eyes to see better - I'm a crossword puzzle fanatic, and all of a sudden I realized that the six was an eight and the eight was a six, but I suspected it was just the process of aging. And also, frequent urination. I mean, I get up three times a night. At least!

Everyday Health: How has having type 2 diabetes affected your life?

Dukakis: Well, the waking up three times each night affects his sleep, and then he has to sleep later in the morning.

Zorich: There was a time when I would exercise regularly, but then I got into an off-Broadway show and you rehearse during the day, you perform at night, and there's no time for exercise. But then when I was diagnosed with diabetes, I decided that I have to get back into exercising. And so now I try every day to walk, and Olympia just bought a stationary bike a few months ago, So, I try to use that every day.

Everyday Health: What about diet? Have you made many changes?

Dukakis: He's always been very healthy.

Zorich: Although when was the last time you saw me eat pasta? That's because of the diabetes - I don't want to have so many carbohydrates. And sausages - I would love to be able to eat sausages, but they're filled with salt and sodium nitrates.

Dukakis: They're delicious! We both used to eat them.

Zorich: So, in terms of diet, we're both affected.

Everyday Health: You've recently partnered with Novo Nordisk to urge at-risk adults 65 and older to get screened for diabetes. Could you tell me a little about that?

Dukakis:AskScreenKnow.comis a place for people to go and get information, which is so important. For us, it was not only that Louis's condition made us aware of this, but just the idea that seven out of 10 adults are either diabetic or prediabetic to was just so astonishing. We thought it was important to get that information out.

Zorich: People know so little about their bodies; they know more about their cars, about their investments, about their jobs...

Dukakis: Their laptops!

Zorich: Right, they know more about their laptops than they do about their own bodies.

Everyday Health: Have you learned anything about diabetes that surprised you?

Dukakis: I think what surprised me about diabetes was how little we knew.

Zorich: Now that I know I have diabetes, I talk about it a bit more with people, and it's just shocking how many other people tell me that they have it, too.

Everyday Health: Olympia, what is it like to take care of someone with diabetes?

Dukakis: I don't know if I can actually call myself a "caregiver" with Louis, because he takes so much responsibility for himself and always has. But once he had something on his foot, and I thought maybe it was related to diabetes because it wasn't healing. I thought maybe it wasn't getting an adequate blood supply, and so I was insisting that he go find out about it. With something like that, I'll be insistent.

I know that one thing that has to do with general health is your posture - just a matter of standing up straight. And so years ago, he had this very, very difficult episode with his heart. And when it all ended, he was just [impersonates being completely hunched over]. So, one day I said to him: "You belong to the tribe called Homo erectus. You cannot go around hunching like that." [Laughter all around].

Zorich: And after that, when I'd go out the door, she'd tell me: "Remember, Homo erectus."

Dukakis: So, I'm more like a cheerleader. I don't feel like I have to watch him. He's always been very independent and doesn't look to other people to take care of him. I remember when we first met and he was missing a button on his shirt. I offered to sew it for him, and he asked, "Why?" And I said, "Well, because you don't have a button." And he said: "I can do that. Why do I need you to do that?" He's just like that.

Everyday Health: Do you have any advice for caregivers of people with diabetes?

Dukakis: The first thing, and this is from all the different types of caregiving I've done, is to acknowledge what's in front of you - to see it and accept it as the reality now. Then the next thing is to get information, to ask your doctor about it, and then to work out a way to incorporate this information and whatever the treatment is supposed to be in your life.

Zorich: The other thing is, for example, when I was talking earlier about the vision problems I've had, Olympia said I'd never told her that. With Olympia, if she has a headache or something's wrong with her, she'll go to a doctor. With me it's different, and sometimes that makes it difficult. Like with the vision situation, I don't know why I hadn't told her. So, I think how open you are is important. And men tend not to be. So, the best advice is probably to share what's going on.